Given that the 20 miles of open water of the English Channel is what saved England’s bacon from invasion by Napoleon and Hitler, are there plans to close the Chunnel should the need arise?
No matter how much temporary economic sense that tunnel makes, I’ve always thought that it was stragic nonsense to dig it.
I had always thought that the Aircrews in the Battle of the Barges , and later in the Battle of Britain were the saving factor in WW2 .
Napoleon’s lot did in fact invade the UK unsuccessfully . They got seen off and didn’t try again .
I would not comment on the way that the Chunnel would be stopped up , but there is a suspiciously large cork lying in a disused rail yard near the entrance .
Seriously , the method obviously has to be secret . Otherwise it may not be effective .
Interesting things are done on the quiet for defence purposes .
If you should go to Switerland , for example , on all key roads at strategic places , they have dug large holes in the road for explosives which are also expected to bring down the roof of the many tunnels in the road system . I notice that the Swiss predeliction for tidiness has led to the holes having covers over them , large concrete ones .
A quick tour of Sweden will highlight their use of everyday highways for airfields , if you know about aircraft servicing , they are easy to spot .
Their rock hewn hangars are not quite so easy to find .
We rely on tradition for security in the Chunnel , in the form of a uniformed jobsworth like we have all met at times .
" Your name isn’t on the list of people allowed in here , so bugger off ."
Finally , why do you not pose the same question of the French ? What if darling Tony suddenly had the bright idea of restoring his popularity by marching what’s left of the British Army through the tunnel whilst the Royal Navy used all six of their ships to patrol the sea above ? Think , it could happen .
I doubt if England would invade France. If they did then they would become responsible for cleaning up the immigrant problem France faces…
In this day and age physical war with guns and bombs is nothing more than a tool used by big countries to distract the people from the real war which is fought on the economic front where you have big business, insurance and banks pushing and shoving to get the upper hand. Just look around and see how many businesses are owned by foreign interests.
You’re a bit late there . Warren , we already do the job .
One night, while driving a Jeep that I was assigned to return from Pohang, Korea to Futema, Okinawa by way of Chin Hae, Korea and then a flight in a C-130, I was “in the Zone,” driving south on a 4 lane highway of the standard sort. Suddenly, the “highway” widened considerably, and I was driving over the threshold markers of a runway! It was one of the strangest experiences of my Naval career! I had the presence of mind to mark the odometer and noted that the runway was just over 1.75 miles long, or just under 10,000 feet. Such a runway could bring down just about any airplane in the inventory. There were bunkers off in the distance.
I suspected so about the Chunnel. Glad to hear it.
Why would England want to invade France? Even the Germans don’t want to anymore. The place is too screwed up to be worth the effort!
Mike, the Battle of Britain was the saving factor in Big 2, but Hitler knew that the RAF had to be defeated before he could cross the Channel. Without the Channel as a barrier, it would have been the standard Blitzkrieg. Remember that England had rescued most of her Army from Dunkirk, but at the cost of leaving behind all of the equipment. Without the barrier of the Channel, the Wermacht could have rolled across England in a few weeks at most.
On the other hand, without the Channel, there would have been no evacuation from Dunkirk, the British Army could have made an orderly retreat from France, largely intact, so who knows?
Interesting to think about.
SteveF
I wonder; does Britain want their leaky subs back…?
Fred Mills said:Fred ;) :)
I wonder; does Britain want their leaky subs back....?
Would we get a refund as in “Your satisfaction guaranteed or your money cheerfully refunded”?
BTW is all in the “Electrics”! 
Fred , D’ya mean the ones built in Hong Kong , at the Li Ki Shipyard ?
Mike Morgan said:Being U class, they should have been christened Unready, Unfit, Unseaworthy and Unfloatable, or something like that. But, let's be honest, it was our government's penchant for outfitting the military on the cheap that was as much responsible for this debacle as any British perfidy. (And, as in 'tit-Jean Cretin's helicopter fiasco, it will end up costing us more than buying proper gear in the first place.)
Fred , D'ya mean the ones built in Hong Kong , at the Li Ki Shipyard ?
Chris Vernell said:Spend a little bit, get a little bit. Spend a little bit more, get a whole lot more!Mike Morgan said:Being U class, they should have been christened Unready, Unfit, Unseaworthy and Unfloatable, or something like that. But, let's be honest, it was our government's penchant for outfitting the military on the cheap that was as much responsible for this debacle as any British perfidy. (And, as in 'tit-Jean Cretin's helicopter fiasco, it will end up costing us more than buying proper gear in the first place.)
Fred , D'ya mean the ones built in Hong Kong , at the Li Ki Shipyard ?
Personally I never went to sea in anything smaller than an Aircraft Carrier.
I have great respect for submariners and paratroopers, but you have to admit they are a strage breed. I mean, going to sea in perfect seaworthy boat and sinking it on purpose, or going up in a servicible a/c and jumping out before it lands safely! 
Rod
Rod Fearnley said:Rod,
Personally I never went to sea in anything smaller than an Aircraft Carrier. I have great respect for submariners and paratroopers, but you have to admit they are a strage breed. I mean, going to sea in perfect seaworthy boat and sinking it on purpose, or going up in a servicible a/c and jumping out before it lands safely! :-) Rod
There is no such thing as a perfectly seaworthy ship, nor is there any such thing as a perfectly airworthy aircraft. Sometimes I think that paratroopers are emminently sane.
I’m not sure that I can say the same for Submariners. Maybe that is why we call them “Bubbleheads.” Shields up!
SteveF
Damn the Official Secrets Act , it is stopping me from telling you misguided souls about the dreaded subs that the Royal Navy rejected as not fit for purpose , but someone decided were good off the shelf stopgaps . I think he misunderstood the word “stopgaps” when they told him the gaps in the hull needed stopping . However , let us not slander the manufacturers , they make things to spec. Not as Private Venture . Having been heavily involved in military procurement , I can assure you that most of the problems are caused by the military changing their minds half way through a project . Now , imagine if you had to open the hull up to fit a different lump inside .
Some unclassified examples of service involvement include taking a perfectly acceptable transport aircraft , and having the front loading doors bolted shut permanently , in such a way that they could be unbolted . And turn the existing rear cargo door into a supply drop door , ignoring the added weights of both these loony jobs . Then complain that it is not fit for purpose because it is too heavy . Argosy Transport , 1960’s .
Get modifications done to large naval vessels without issuing a progress analysis chart , thus rendering certain fittings useless when they got cut through to fit something behind them . Dockyard mateys do wot it sez on the droring . Drawings provided by HM Dockyard .
So , let’s not blame the original designers , or the blokes who make them , or modify them , blame the accountants who cut jobs out without technical discussion, a common trait in any industry .
Chris Vernell said:Chris,
Being U class, they should have been christened Unready, Unfit, Unseaworthy and Unfloatable, or something like that. But, let's be honest, it was our government's penchant for outfitting the military on the cheap that was as much responsible for this debacle as any British perfidy. (And, as in 'tit-Jean Cretin's helicopter fiasco, it will end up costing us more than buying proper gear in the first place.)
The least likely way to get involved in a war : have no equipment! Buying substandard is the intermediate step!
They should have bought the subs for the Coast Guard, who needs subs for Peacekeeping!
Speaking of airworthy…and jumping out of perfectly good aircraft…
My first official military flight was in an old C47 Goonybird (aka DC3). We were all required to wear a parachute and upon receiving the final instructions on how to use the thing, the aircraft commander interjects a comment: "You could not pay me enough to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft, but, if you hear the bailout bell don’t stop in the doorway unless you want footprints on your back…Mine! 
Warren
Dont start me on how I think Brussels and the Government engineered a foreign invasion on a massive scale and succeeded where Hitler did nt.
Stable doors and bolted horses come to mind.
It’s been said that WWIII will be fought without a shot being fired. It will all be economic. And from what I’ve seen, the US is loosing…badly. Far too much foreign ownership for our good. Far too vulnerable to what other foreign currencies do. Far too much of our labor is oursourced to foreign countries that don’t have our well being in mind.
Warren
Warren Mumpower said:
It's been said that WWIII will be fought without a shot being fired. It will all be economic. And from what I've seen, the US is loosing...badly. Far too much foreign ownership for our good. Far too vulnerable to what other foreign currencies do. Far too much of our labor is oursourced to foreign countries that don't have our well being in mind.Warren
Now all you have to do is work out what caused that, who allowed it to happen, and why.
Now, if TOC, Steve Featherkile and other Republicans could see that…Hmmmmmm.
Warren
It didn’t happen in 8 years, and as a percentage of our GNP, it is very small.
If the good ol US of A is so bad, why does everyone still try to come here?
Hmmmmmm?
SteveF